This Could Be The Last Time
by littlesheep
Summary: It may not be smart to go to the mountains in a snowstorm. But then again - you never know what might happen. And btw - men do have orientation issues, not women! LOL StellaMac story as usual Now more than ever! - SMacked - Chapter 6 up now. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Merry Christmas everyone! Thanks to everyone again for the reviews on "Temptation" and to those who put the story or me on alert or on their favorites lists - any form of feedback is always welcome :-) And as promised, it really encouraged me to keep writing and I decided to make this story that I've been writing on for ... well, it was supposed to be last year's Christmas story - this might give you a hint ;-) ... anyway, I decided to turn this into a sort of New Year's story now.**

**Features the song "When You Say Nothing At All" by Ronan Keating.**

**Disclaimer**: All the original characters belong to their owners - except for Mac. **Mac belongs to Stella**.

Please read and review :-)

* * *

Chapter 1

Mac came out of his office and looked around, searching for no one in particular. A glance at Stella's office told him she wasn't back yet. He knew that Danny and Hawkes would still be in the field since he had sent them out only an hour ago. Walking through the corridors, he spotted Lindsay in Trace and turned to talk to her.

"Lindsay, are you free? I would need you to go with me," he asked.

"Sorry, Mac. I'm waiting for test results in the Perruggi case and—" the reply got interrupted by a beep. "—and here they are! The DA is waiting on the final report, wants to have it by 1 p.m. at the latest and it's already 11:30, so…"

She gave him a questioning look. He was the boss and if he said to drop it and go with him, she would do it. Then she looked past him along the corridor.

"Hey, why don't you ask Stella to go with you?"

"Stella's at court talking with the ADA to prepare for a testimony she's going to give next week today. I have no idea how long that might take and when she will be back, at least I don't think she would make it in time to—"

"—to what?" he got interrupted by a cheerful voice from behind his back.

"Stella!" he smiled as he turned around.

"That would be me. What did I win?" she smiled back.

"A trip to the mountains," Mac replied slowly.

"Yay. Uh... Mac? Have you looked up from your desk recently? You know that it is snowing like hell outside and they predicted a blizzard for the late afternoon? And besides, it's New Year's Eve today. You really think going to the mountains would be such a smart idea right now?"

Abating enthusiasm was apparent from the sound of her voice.

"Yeah, I know. But hikers found a body somewhere in the Adirondacks Resort and we have to go to check out the scene as soon as possible. Otherwise it might take days or weeks before we find the body, let alone start to investigate anything," Mac explained why they would have to go despite the weather conditions.

"Brilliant. I'll go get my arctic survival kit. Meet you at the car in five minutes," Stella announced and headed over to her office.

Lindsay shrugged at Mac with a smile.

"I love the mountains, especially when it's snowing. It's beautiful," she said.

"Maybe in Montana, when you are riding a horse," he returned the smile before he turned to leave.

* * *

"We didn't get lost!" Mac disagreed stubbornly after Stella had told him for the fifth time that they were going the wrong way.

"Yes we did," Stella calmly returned.

_And they always say women have an orientation issue…_

"Mac, we passed this sign almost half an hour ago – for the third time… Don't you think that might tell us, uh… something?" she carefully asked.

"Is it my fault that the GPS reception is broken and the navigator doesn't work?" Mac grumbled in return, unwilling to admit that she was at least partly right.

Sure he knew they weren't exactly on the right track at the moment. But lost? No way…

"Or that there are no mountain guides stationed around here whom you can ask for directions? Maybe we should try to call someone to tell us how we get to the place where they found the body," he added.

Stella rolled her eyes. Men were complicated. And completely illogical at times.

"This is not Chicago, Mac! We don't have _Mounties_ in New York City and you never get a cell signal up here, especially not in such a storm," she griped.

"Anyway, we are NOT lost," Mac insisted again. "All we need to do is follow this way a little longer, then we should have to make a turn to the right and—"

_Wrrrmmmppp!_

The car stopped abruptly with a scratching sound, causing both Stella and Mac to be forced forward into the tightened seat-belts. After they had recovered from the brief shock, Stella looked over to Mac in surprise.

"What was that?"

"I have no idea, I think… the car just got stuck in a snowdrift," he slowly replied.

"Great." Stella's mood was gradually going underground. "Now we are not only lost, we are also stuck up here with no idea where we are. And no way to contact anyone or to get out on our own. Really great. Oh well, when spring comes and the snow has melted, someone will find our bodies. Eventually."

"We should try to find a place where we can stay until the snow stops," Mac suggested carefully, knowing that there would be several mountain huts around where they could stay and where it would be safer and warmer than in the car.

"You want me to get out of the car," Stella started asking in a low voice, her eyes narrowed, "in THIS kind of weather?"

Mac shrugged helplessly.

"Got a better idea?"

Stella snorted briefly, then she opened the door and jumped out into the storm.

"What? You are coming now, or what?!?"

"Sure!" Mac hurried to follow her after he had grabbed for his kit and locked the car.

XXXXX

After they had been fighting their way through the snow for about twenty minutes, Stella sighed in relief. To their right, there was a little hut that seemed to be intact and unoccupied. She tapped Mac's shoulder and motioned in that direction.

He nodded, his head tugged between his shoulders to keep the snow from falling into his collar.

"Let's check if they left the key here somewhere," he said, feeling along the doorframe, then the window to the right. "Here we go!"

The force of the wind caused them to stumble inside, bringing with them several thousand snowflakes. Mac quickly closed the door after Stella had followed him into the hut, shutting the two of them away from the rest of the world.

There was no doubt that they would have to stay in here at least for the night, maybe longer, depending on how bad the storm would become. He took a long look around. It was a typical mountain hut... stone fireplace leading up to the roof, a suspended ceiling with wooden beams holding the sides of the house together. A nice and simple place for mountain hikers who needed a place to stay for a little break or for a night. To the right there was a little oven and a cupboard, in the far left corner to the room there was a small couch.

"All I want is a warm bed, a kind word and unlimited powers," Stella sighed, interrupting his thoughts.

"What?" Mac absentmindedly asked as he had just noticed something that caused him to groan....

_ONE room – besides the small entry area behind the entrance door – and the only minimal comfort was the fireplace with big sheepskin on the floor in front of it..._

Stella chuckled.

"Oh come on, Mac. It's not that bad..."

"Not that bad?!?" he repeated incredulously.

_No. Not bad. Actually it's the epitome of a romantic scenario._

He groaned again.

XXXXX

After they had finished a little meal, a can of soup they had found in the cupboard above the little oven, Stella got up and walked over to the fireplace where they had ignited a nice, warming fire. She picked the woollen blankets they had found next to the couch and arranged them on the sheepskin. Then she started to take off her jacket, put it on a chair and got ready to continue underneath Mac's unbelieving look.

"What are you doing???" he gasped.

"I am going to sleep now and I don't intend to do that fully dressed. So would you mind turning around? That is ... unless you wanna see the rest of the show?" she teased him.

"It's still rather early, maybe we should … do something?" he tried to avoid the inevitable.

"Sure," Stella said earnestly. "How about some TV or video games? Or would you rather play cards or something else? Hey! We could play charade…"

She got up from the floor and stepped behind the couch where Mac was still sitting.

"I could give you a little massage," she suggested, causing him to almost jump up as if a spring from the couch had popped out and hit him.

"I don't know, I don't think, you don't have to…" he struggled.

"Okay... well will you massage me, then? I'm pretty tense from the cold..." she asked, rolling her shoulders while she rubbed her hands together.

He froze... he should have expected that.

"Stella, I don't know... I - I'm not that..."

She moved from behind the couch and sat down on the floor between his legs in front of him, leaving him no chance to get away.

"Please, Mac?" There were those amazing green eyes looking at him again... begging him to start touching her..., making it impossible to refuse.

_Help!_ his mind yelped.

But there was no help in sight. She was close, much too close. More than he could take. And this look in her eyes... He swallowed.

* * *

_It's amazing  
How you can speak  
Right to my heart  
Without saying a word_

_  
You can light up the dark  
Try as I may  
I could never explain  
What I hear when  
You don't say a thing_

_

* * *

  
_

"Alright... but I have to warn you, this will most likely make it rather worse than better..." he quipped, not really sure if he was just referring to the condition of her shoulders. "You should probably sit in front of the fire for a few minutes so your muscles get warmer, I've seen them doing that in professional massage studios, they always put you on some warm blankets or so to relax the muscles before working on them…"

Talking a lot on neutral territory might possibly help to… He gulped as he watched her take her blazer and shirt of, leaving her dressed in only a soft black bra at the top.

THIS was too much... He tried to focus on some useful words.

"What are you doing?!?"

"It's just the two of us, Mac. It's not a problem. And you can't massage through clothes, right?"

_Just the two of us... Yeah. No problem? Not sure about that..._ he mused, a half-undressed Stella sitting in front of him.

_What if she started to take off the bra as well???_

Panic started rising inside his stomach.

"Mac?"

"Huh?!" He snapped out of his trance...

"Were you gonna start anytime soon? I think my back is pretty warm from the fire by now…"

He chuckled nervously...

"Sorry, I uh... yeah. Um, why don't you lie down on the blanket in front of the fire so I can… um, work on your back and you can relax?"

He knelt down beside her, slowly moved his shaking hands towards her bare shoulders.

TBC

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**Let me hear what you think, please? Thanks :-) Geez, I REALLY missed you guys so much... Can't wait to go on! xxxlittlesheepxxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks everyone for all the nice comments and alerts and everything. Geez, first the alert system didn't seem to work, and then the next morning my mailbox almost spilled over ;-)**

**Someone said the first chapter's event were a little cliche - and I agree. So, you really think they should/would jump each other now right away? Tsss.... Really? Yeah, me too. But - wouldn't that be even more cliche? And where would the story go after that? Questions over questions.**

**Part of the answers might be in this chapter - please read and review!  
**

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Chapter 2

Stella breathed deeply, letting her head and shoulders drop down to the floor and closed her eyes, her attention focused on the movements of his hands on her skin.

_They were friends, close friends who knew each other inside out for almost ten years. There was nothing awkward and definitely nothing sexual about this… Right?_

Mac tried to distract himself, thinking about work or something.

His fingers moved slowly across her shoulders, the thumbs pressed in circles along her neck muscles and down her spine. Her skin felt warm from the fire and was incredibly soft. He continued to massage the muscles along her spine, then carefully moved a little along her waist when he reached the small of her back. Her deep and even breathing showed him that she was totally relaxed and seemed to enjoy it despite his doubts.

When he moved back up again, his thumbs marking slow circling pressure points around every single vertebra all the way up to the nape of her neck, Stella sighed deeply.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you have magic hands?" she mumbled into the sheepskin.

"Not really," Mac returned hesitantly.

"Seriously, you really know how to touch a woman," she smiled, slightly lifting her head to face him.

"Stella, I..."

He silently prayed that the low light of the fire didn't show that he was blushing from her words.

She wasn't really willing to give him a chance to explain. Then she moved closer to him and pulled him down onto the blanket next to her. He protested briefly, unsure of why this was occurring, but quickly dismissed all of his thoughts.

… _or was there?_

Stella moaned softly against his mouth, teasing his lips with her tongue while she tried to find a comfortable position. She smiled against his lips when she felt him responding to her affections, kissing him deeply, exploring his mouth.

He moved his trembling hands down her back, her waist, her legs, wanted to touch every inch he could reach. Then he pushed her back, so that he was lying on top, leaning in to kiss her neck as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Cold?" he whispered between kisses when he felt her shiver.

"No..." she whispered, snuggling into his embrace. Her skin jumped slightly as his hands slid down to her bellybutton, moving into the waistband of her pants and underwear.

"Mac..." she moaned, her entire body arching against him. He smiled to himself and kissed her slightly parted lips. She kissed back immediately, her hands reaching for his neck, pulling him closer. He leaned forward, planting kisses on her collarbone while his hands continued to explore her body.

She giggled beneath him and attempted to get free from his grip, but he was too strong, pressing her wrists against the floor. For a moment the world around them stopped turning. They just looked into each other's eyes...

"Sorry," Mac cleared his throat and pulled back. "I didn't mean to push you..."

"Don't be sorry, Mac! That was … wonderful," she whispered in a low voice, but didn't make the attempt to hold him back.

He slowly got up and handed her another woolen blanket so that she could wrap herself in it. Then he moved over to the couch and sat. Now he was even more freaked by the thought of sleeping next to her on a sheepskin in front of a crackling fire…

The situation could hardly get any more awkward, could it?

Stella lay on her left side next to the fire, the blanket wrapped around her body, her head propped onto her left hand. She watched him pensively. She couldn't explain what had just happened between them, why she had suddenly felt the urge to pull him close to her. But she was sure that at least for a moment he had thoroughly enjoyed what had happened. And so had she.

The question now was – how would they go on from here and especially, how would they spend the night after this? Knowing Mac wouldn't be the first to say anything, she thought about a way to lighten the mood.

"Oh, since you are still up and dressed, could you be so nice and get some more firewood and pile it on the fire? Otherwise we're gonna be deep-frozen in the morning and then our colleagues would have to come up here and process the scene with us on the sheepskin in front of the fireplace together and…"

Mac shook his head, despite the awkward tension he felt he had to smile. He put on his coat that he had dropped onto the couch and turned to go outside into the storm to get some wood from underneath the roof next to the hut.

At the door, he turned around and looked at her in silence.

The only light in the room was coming from the crackling fire. She had half of the buttons of her green shirt that she had put back on after the massage still undone, her hair falling down onto her shoulders.

His mind started wondering about how it would feel to play with those beautiful curls, feel the warm softness of her skin under his exploring touch and kisses again… He imagined how it would be to wake up in the middle of the night and see her sleeping, only covered by some woolen blankets near the fireplace, her curls spilled on the pillow, the light of the fire painting soft patterns on her skin.

When he realized that she was watching him staring at her, he cleared his throat. His voice sounded strange to him, deeper than he wanted it to be.

"What would have happened if I hadn't backed off?" he quietly asked.

"Maybe we will never know…" Stella replied softly.

Her voice was too familiar and too sweet. He couldn't figure if her tone was rather playful and suggestive or indicative that he should just go and forget about what had happened earlier. He nodded in agreement to her words, then he turned around and headed out, quickly closing the door behind him to keep the snow and cold air outside.

_  
The smile on your face  
Lets me know  
That you need me_

_  
There's a truth in your eyes  
Saying you'll never leave me_

_

* * *

  
_

Stella tried to find a comfortable position in front of the fire, covering herself with the blankets when she suddenly heard a loud crash outside of the hut. She immediately feared that something terrible had happened. Grabbing for her coat, she jumped up and ran over to the door and out into the storm.

"MAC! Mac, what happened? Where are you?"

She walked around the left corner of the hut. The roof under which the firewood had been piled up had collapsed under the load of snow.

"Mac?" She walked closer, trying not to stumble in the deep snow. Then she saw him.

"MAC!"

TBC

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**Your turn - let me know as usual, keep the inspiration going. And since this is the last post for this year (which luckily in that regard only has a little more than 24 hours) - HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! xxxlittlesheepxxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**HAPPY New Year everyone!**

**Thanks a million times for all the nice comments - and one thing I need to mention (guess I did that in my profile a long time ago, but not everyone reads and remembers all the time): Almost all my stories are complete before I start posting - so whatever you comment will usually not change the plot. It might have an effect on this or future stories or change minor details (to make things more clear), but I wouldn't rewrite things ;-) So feel free to comment whatever you like and don't be afraid it might cause something to happen or not to happen - yet, I take every comment seriously and into consideration for later as a means of inspiration and encouragement.**

**Alright - you all wanna know what happened to Mac, so go ahead and read (and review ;-)). Thanks!  
**

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Chapter 3

"Mac! Oh my God, Mac, are you alright?"

Stella hurried to his side and crouched down beside him. He lay face down, buried under several planks and beams from the collapsed roof and a large amount of snow and didn't move. She forced herself to calm down, breathed deeply and carefully removed a few loose planks and some snow so that she could reach his throat. When she felt a pulse, her eyes almost filled with tears from the relief. Then she got up again.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out," she announced firmly, more to encourage herself than to reassure Mac.

She removed as much snow as she could with her bare hands to assess the situation and to figure out which planks she could remove without risking the entire stack collapsing to hurt Mac even more. One by one she slowly pulled the broken pieces out and put them aside, re-evaluating anew after every move. Mac moaned in pain and moved slightly. Stella instantly knelt beside him, trying to hold him still.

"Don't move! It's alright, everything's gonna be okay. Don't worry. Just don't move until I'm sure that it's safe to get you out of there, you hear me?" she whispered in his ear.

"What happened?" he groaned weakly.

"I think the roof next to the hut collapsed under the weight of the snow and you got buried under it," Stella explained. "Are you okay, are you hurt?"

"I… I don't know," he replied. "My head hurts, I think I got hit by something or fell onto something. My ribs hurt a little when I'm breathing, but I can feel my arms and legs."

"You are trapped under the front girder of the roof, it might have hit your thorax when it came down. But I can feel there's room between you and the thing. If I can just lift it a little, you think you can crawl out from underneath it yourself? I can't push that thing up and pull you out at the same time…"

"I'll try," Mac confirmed slowly. He knew there wasn't another chance. Stella was right, she couldn't hold the beam up and pull him out and there was no chance for help from the outside. And with the freezing temperatures and the snowstorm still gaining strength he would never make it through the next couple of hours, let alone until help arrived. And with every minute in the cold snow that passed, he would only get weaker.

Stella nodded. She got up and checked the situation again, trying to figure where best to grab the girder so that she could lift it slightly and give Mac the room to get out while at the same time making sure she wouldn't cause the rest of the roof to collapse onto them.

"You ready?" she asked after she had found a good place and positioned herself.

"Ready when you are," Mac agreed.

She braced herself, then grabbed the beam with both hands.

"On three," she announced. "One … two … three! Can you move?"

Mac groaned with pain, but managed to push backwards with his hands, ducked his head underneath the beam and rolled over to his side. Stella slowly let the beam sink down into the snow again and crouched down at his side. She breathed heavily from the effort.

"Okay, now let's see that we get inside quickly," she said. "You think you can get up?"

"Mmph," Mac returned, slowly pushing himself up to his knees.

Stella helped him steadying himself by supporting him with her hands at his waist until he was standing upright. He seemed to be insecure for some reason, but she blamed that on the impact of the beam and the fact that his legs had to be cold and unsteady.

"Put your arm around my shoulder, it's only a few steps until we're back inside," she encouraged him.

Only a few steps, but through at least three feet of snow that was piled up around the hut by now. They slowly moved step by step, Stella with her right arm around Mac's waist, her left for support feeling along the outside wall of the hut while Mac had his left arm around her shoulders, leaning against her. When she stepped onto something hidden underneath the snow, Stella stumbled briefly and cried out in pain.

"God Damnit!" she cursed, balancing herself against the wall again. Then she continued moving towards the door, limping.

"What was that?" Mac asked, still leaning against her side.

"I think I just sprained my ankle, must have stepped onto something under the snow," she grumbled, wondering briefly why he asked when he must have seen for himself what had just happened…

"Badly?" he asked concerned.

"Hurts like hell, but shouldn't be that bad. I'll have a look at it after I took care of you," she shrugged it off while clenching her teeth. She opened the door with her free hand and gently pushed him inside, closing the door again behind them. Then she turned to face him when she noticed he didn't move. She eyed him warily. He blinked, moved his head, blinked again.

"What's wrong, Mac?" she asked, concern spreading inside her.

"I… I can't see," he said slowly, fear in his tone. "My eyes… I can't see anything. What's wrong with my eyes?"

"Easy," Stella tried to comfort him, forcing the shock out of her voice. "Let's get you over to the fire so you can lie down and relax, then let me have a look at your injuries. I'm sure it's gonna be alright, Mac. You're safe now. I'm here with you."

XXXXX

While Mac was lying on the sheepskin in front of the fire, Stella searched their field kit and the cupboards of the hut for the stuff she needed to doctor him. After a few moments, she returned to his side and sat next to him.

"I'm gonna need you to take of your coat and shirt," she said conversationally, trying to let her voice sound as normal as possible.

Mac lifted his eyebrows, his head turned in her direction, his gaze dropped to the floor as he wasn't able to look at her anyway.

"Haven't we been there?" he tried to joke.

"Yeah, and you were the one who chickened out," Stella returned tauntingly. "I need to check if your ribs are just bruised or maybe cracked or if you have any further injuries that you might not feel yet due to the cold outside."

She helped him shrug out of his coat and shirt, then thoroughly examined his back, chest and lower abdomen. There were no open wounds or serious bruises and the only time Mac indicated pain was on the right side of his lower back where the beam had hit him. Stella prepared some pain-relieving ointment and carefully wrapped a bandage around his body.

"That should do it," she announced after she had fixed the end of the bandage and examined her work. Then she went over to the sink and filled a glass with water before she returned to him.

"Here, take these painkillers for the headache you're gonna get otherwise," she said, putting the glass in his right hand while dropping two pills in his left. "And an icepack for your forehead to subdue the swelling. Then you should lay down and try to get some sleep. You certainly have at least a mild concussion and that's not to be taken lightly. I'll be here if you need anything."

Stella shrugged out of her own coat and grabbed for another blanket, then she lowered herself onto the sheepskin next to him. Mac slightly turned his head to his right when he felt she had settled down.

"I'm scared…" he admitted quietly into the semi-dark room.

Stella swallowed the lump that wanted to form in her throat and forced down the tears that threatened to fill her eyes. She rolled to her left side and gently placed her right hand on his shoulder.

"I know," she softly said. "You're not alone, Mac. We'll have to get some rest now. The fire should be burning long enough until it's dawning, then I'll see that I get something to keep it running. Let's try to sleep a little and tomorrow…"

She swallowed the words 'we will _see_ how things are…' when she remembered.

He nodded silently, understanding her without the words she hadn't spoken out loud.

"Yeah," he said, putting his head down again. "Tomorrow…"

XXXXX

In the middle of the night Stella woke up with a start when she felt Mac tossing around next to her, mumbling and moaning. It took her a moment to remember where she was and why. She turned around and put her right arm across his chest.

"Mac! Relax, it's alright," she whispered soothingly into his ear, trying not to wake him too abruptly.

She rubbed her hand along his upper arm in a comforting gesture, talking to him in a soft voice until he came out of his dream and realized that he had been having a nightmare and Stella was next to him, pulling the warming blanket that he had pushed down closer around his body again.

"You okay?" Stella asked when she noticed that he had calmed down a little.

"I must have had a nightmare," Mac slowly said as he shook his head slightly and rubbed his face with both hands. "I was in the Marines and we were in a battle, there was shellfire everywhere around us, cars exploded, buildings collapsed, all kinds of debris flying through the air, raining down around us, on us…"

Stella took a deep breath and nodded. Naturally this was a consequence of yesterday's event. All she hoped that he didn't sustain a serious concussion. She knew that was something serious and dangerous and needed medical treatment and close observation and God knew when there would be a chance for rescue under the current circumstances.

"How's your head?" she asked carefully. "Do you need more medication?"

Mac shook his head.

"No, I'm good, thanks. The bump on my forehead hurts some, but I'm feeling okay. No dizziness or nausea, just a little shaken right now."

Stella wanted to ask about his eyes, but hesitated. She didn't want to push him, give him the feeling she was impatiently waiting for his eyesight to return, but let him know that it might take time and he shouldn't worry if it took longer.

"Is it still dark?" he asked, answering her unspoken question without mentioning the issue itself.

"It's still dark outside and it's still snowing like crazy," she replied. "The fire is still on, it's burned down pretty much, but should keep glowing for another three or four hours."

"That's good," Mac said, then he fell silent again.

Stella watched him as he was lying there on his back, eyes half closed. She knew he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep now.

"Have you had problems with nightmares about combat scenarios or other things before?" she asked softly, not sure if it was a good idea to dig into the matter. "We don't have to talk about it, but if you feel like it, I'm here to listen…"

"Not in the past couple of years," he returned after a moment of silence. "I had them each time when my unit had returned from an operation with lots of combats, injuries, fatalities… Then it was gone for years – until Claire died."

Stella nodded in silence and stroked her hand absently over his right cheek.

"The images of the planes flying into the towers, the explosions, the buildings collapsing and the pictures of the people in the streets, running from the falling debris… I couldn't get that out of my mind, it kept following me whenever I closed my eyes."

"That's why you hardly slept at all, tried to work without taking a break, to avoid those nightmares," Stella quietly said, understanding the pain he had gone through, the pain he was still trying to deal with.

"There was nothing I could do to help Claire or any of the other innocent people who died that day," Mac continued in a quiet voice. "They were victims who had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. I and many others who had lost someone there had to deal with it with the time, but apart from all that, it just kept reminding me of the past. Back then, they tried to tell us that the guys that died in the fight, those that got hurt and survived – sometimes barely patched back together – were heroes, not victims. At some point, you realize it's just not true…"

Stella could feel that he was calming down slowly. There was still tension in his voice, but his breathing became more relaxed and easier, his previously clenched fists had opened and his hands were now resting on the blanket. Without thinking, she reached for his right hand, took it into hers and lightly moved her fingers over his palm.

Mac closed his eyes at this simple, wordless gesture of comfort. He knew she understood everything he had said. They had seen enough violence, been through enough rough moments together that he didn't have to explain all the details of his memories that still haunted him.

Finally he drifted of into a deep, dreamless sleep while Stella kept his hand in hers, watching him until she was sure everything was alright again. Then she lay down beside him, her head leaning against his shoulder and allowed herself to find some sleep herself.

_  
The touch of your hand says  
You'll catch me  
Whenever I fall  
You say it best  
When you say nothing at all_

* * *

**Hope you like it, let me know :-) Thanks, littlesheep.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long delay, but I'm in the middle of an ISP (internet provider) switch for weeks now and don't really have internet at the moment. Right now I'm working with a USB stick an a cell phone SIM card - which is slow, but at least working. So finally you get an update for this story that has been waiting way too long already. Sorry again, wasn't my intention!**

**Ironically, this story matches the current situation more than I ever thought it could since we have snow here for weeks now (although not that much and at least the roads are free) and it's been freezing since December 27 and will stay this way for at least another week or longer... NOT funny!**

**Hope you enjoy the story nevertheless, whether you have snow yourselves or not - let me know what you think! Please read and review :-)**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 4

Mac slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times. Then he closed them again.

"I still can't see anything… not even the slightest shimmer of light…" he sighed, feeling that Stella was watching him.

She inched closer and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, lying close to him to keep them both at least a bit warm.

"Happy New Year, Mac..." she whispered instead of a reply, trying to distract his thoughts.

"Some way to start the new year…" he mumbled and smiled weakly.

Mac tried to rise a bit and grimaced with pain. Stella helped him sit upright and stuffed some blankets behind his back so that he could lean against them. Then she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a long hug. He buried his face in her curls without moving. Only after a while she noticed that he was crying softly when she felt tears running along her neck.

"What's wrong, Mac? Does it hurt too much?" she worriedly asked.

He slowly shook his head.

"What is it, Mac?" she repeated.

He took a short breath and sighed, swallowing deeply.

"I was just thinking…"

"About what?"

She wouldn't let him handle this alone.

"That this could be the last time that we…"

She instantly interrupted him by putting a finger over his lips, then looked him in the eyes, until she realized he couldn't see it.

"I don't wanna hear stuff like this from you, are we clear? They know that we are up here somewhere and as soon as the storm dies down, they will come looking for us. They WILL find us, Mac."

Her tone didn't leave a doubt that she was serious. Serious about him letting himself go like this and about the fact that they would be rescued. Mac closed his eyes and nodded obediently.

Stella smiled satisfied and wiped some tears from his cheek.

* * *

_All day long  
I can hear people  
Talking out loud_

_  
But when you hold me near  
You drown out the crowd  
Try as they may  
They can never define  
What's been said  
Between your  
Heart and mine_

_

* * *

  
_

"Want me to massage your shoulders?" she asked suddenly, already crawling up behind him on her knees, putting her hands on his shoulders. He tried to relax. When she leaned over his shoulder, her breath tickling his ear...

"You don't have to massage me," he quickly replied ... a little too quickly maybe... "Isn't your ankle still hurting?"

Stella chuckled.

"My ankle is just fine, only hurts a little. Besides, I don't need it for the massage. Now it's your turn..." she smiled as she slowly started to remove his shirt, placing a light kiss on the side of his neck.

Mac closed his eyes, loving the feel of her lips on his skin, and leaned his head back, presuming her intentions.... She smiled, loving the affect she had on him.

"Stella..." he whispered desperately.

"Sh-sh... lie down on the floor and relax… no arguments," she said firmly.

He honestly tried to find a reason to avoid yet another too close and too intimate situation, but found it impossible to think straight with her hands tenderly stroking the sides of his neck, sliding down over his shoulders and back. Her knuckles lightly brushed his earlobes when she started rubbing her fingertips along his jaw line. With an inward sigh and a heartfelt silent prayer, Mac rolled over to his stomach and surrendered himself to her.

Stella focused her attentions to his lower neck and upper shoulder muscles first. Mac wasn't built like a bodybuilder with huge muscle packs everywhere, but he certainly was built quite well as she had noticed on previous occasions when she had been treated to the sight of him without a shirt. She wasn't surprised to find how tight and tense his muscles were, considering the cold and the events of the previous day, then the night on the floor with the minimum comfort of the sheepskin as mattress.

While she seemed to enjoy what she was doing as far as he could tell from the confident moves of her soft, warm hands on his skin, Mac had a hard time relaxing the slightest bit. Here he was, lying on a sheepskin in front of a crackling fire in a secluded mountain hut, the most beautiful and sensitive woman he could imagine touching, caressing, massaging his bare skin in the most sensual way – and the panic that had gripped his stomach and other vital inner organs only seemed to tighten further.

When Stella reached his lower back, she gently moved her fingers slightly inside the waistband of this trousers to finish her task at the small of his back. Mac took in a quick breath at this swift action and swallowed hard, glad that she couldn't see his face right now. He was sure he had blushed like a fourth grader.

"Okay Mac, I need you to turn over now," she said as she moved aside to give him space to roll over.

"What?!?"

He gasped incredulously, forgetting to keep his composure for just a moment. Then he remembered the agreement, 'no arguments.' With a suppressed groan of surrender, he rolled onto his back, awaiting the after all pleasant torture to be continued.

_The touch of your hand says  
You'll catch me  
Whenever I fall  
You say it best  
When you say nothing at all_

* * *

"It's light outside now," Stella explained to Mac after she had finished the massage and helped him to get dressed.

"And it finally stopped snowing. I'm gonna go and see that we get some firewood now and…" she stopped when she looked out of the little window next to the door. "…and I'm gonna use the window to get out," she said more to herself than to him.

"Excuse me?" Mac wondered, following the sound of her voice with his head.

Stella turned back to him, still not used to the thought that he wasn't able to see for himself and that she had to explain and describe everything to him in detail.

"There's snow piled up in front of the door, at least four or five feet as far as I can see from here. If I open that door now and try to get out, all the snow is gonna come in and we won't be able to close the door again afterwards," she told him.

"We're trapped?" Mac asked, trying to picture the scene she had described.

"The snow only reaches the lower edge of the window here," Stella replied. "I can open the window and if I managed to worm myself through it, I could get out and back in that way."

"Worm yourself…" he shook his head. "That window was wide enough that even I would fit through it, let alone you."

Stella beamed a smile at him even though he couldn't see it.

"Thanks," she said, "that was really sweet. I'll see that I can dig up some firewood from under the snow then and afterwards we're gonna have some breakfast."

"Be careful!" Mac called after her.

"Absolutely," she confirmed, her upper body already out of the window.

With a little wiggling, she managed to maneuver her waist and legs out until she lost her balance and slid out, head first into the snow.

"Mmmmpf!"

Mac raised his head towards the window from where the muffled sound had come.

"Stella?" he called. "Are you alright?"

"Mmm-kk.." it replied in a tone, faintly resembling her voice.

"What?" he got up and slowly made his way over to the window, one foot in front of the other, hands stretched out to feel if there were any obstacles in his way.

"Eh… ouff," Stella groaned from outside. "I was saying 'I'm okay', might have gotten a bit muffled by the snow in my mouth. There is ice underneath the snow on the outer windowsill and I performed a little nosedive into the snow…"

Mac suppressed a chuckle, even without seeing for himself he was pretty sure that the image of Stella sticking head first in a pile of snow would have been worth a picture. When he sensed her glaring at him, he tried to pacify.

"Did you hurt yourself?"

"No," Stella grumbled. "It's just snow… I'll go digging for wood now, there should be some directly next to the hut beside the collapsed roof. Yes, I will be careful," she added, anticipating his next words.

TBC

* * *

**Alright, I hope that the next update can be done faster - internet connection or not I'll try to post. If you want of course ;-)**

**Thanks for all the nice comments and alerts so far - once again: You are the best!!! littlesheep  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm awfully sorry for keeping you waiting for SO long! What can I say, life and other circumstances kind of blocked me for way too long and just when I thought I should go into therapy, I got a review for one of my other stories, reminding me of one important fact: These stories ARE my therapy :-) No matter what happens "elsewhere", THIS is my reality - and I hope it is yours as well and you will be staying with me here. For everything else, check the note in my updated profile. Not gonna say more than that now.**

**Btw, isn't review replying possible anymore? Or did I miss a change during the summer - clicking on the number of reviews is not possible. Well, gotta find a way to personally thank everyone eventually ;-)  
**

**Many thanks to SmackedFTW for the review that got me back on track!**

**Please read and review, thanks so much :-)**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 5

The next day - early afternoon.

"Did you hear that?" Stella exclaimed.

Mac slowly nodded, his right hand instinctively moving to his right hip until he realized he wasn't wearing his gun. There were sounds outside, some sort of rustling, then something cracked - there definitely was someone out there. Or something...

"Well, at least we don't have bears in New York," Stella remarked with a slightly shaky voice.

Mac turned his head in her direction. "I don't wanna scare you..." he hesitantly returned, "... but there are bears in the area, it's just that they should be hibernating at this time of year." He couldn't see her expression turning from surprise via disbelief to serious concern when he added "Unless they didn't find enough to eat in fall and wake up because they get hungry..."

_Should be hibernating? Wake up and get ... HUNGRY?_

"B-bears?" Stella breathed. "In New York City?"

"The Adirondacks Mountains NEAR New York City," Mac corrected. "Black bears and grizzlies if I'm not totally wrong. They are a major problem during the summer because people keep trying to put out food to lure them out for an exciting photo of their camping trip and then they wonder why the bears keep coming and harry the camp sites, destroying cars, trailers, tents and everything that gets in their way. They smell food from miles away and when they do, they simply go for it."

"Thanks for the explanation," Stella replied with a wary look from the little oven to the window. "More than I needed to know..."

They were interrupted by a grunting sound shortly before something heavy bumped against the door of the hut. Stella jumped and headed over to Mac's side, not sure if it was to protect him from whatever was out there or to seek for protection herself. Just when she wanted to ask him what they were supposed to do now, they heard a muffled voice from outside, followed by someone hammering against the door.

"Hello? Someone in there?" a male voice that sounded like music in their ears called out.

Once her heart had started beating again and she finally released the breath she had been holding for what seemed to be minutes, Stella got up and headed for the door to open it. In front of her were two rangers in heavy winter uniforms. The guy at the door gave her a relieved smile - at least she thought he did, given the fact that she could only see his eyes, the rest was hidden behind a high collar and a thick scarf. His partner held radio to his mouth and shouted "WE FOUND THEM! WE'LL GET THEM DOWN NOW!"

Once they had reached the car of the two rangers, Stella turned to them.

"How did you know where to find us?" she asked.

"When you didn't return from your trip, your colleagues informed our station," the guy who had introduced himself as Barry Muller told her. "We couldn't go out right away because of the snow storm and there was no way to track you down due to GPS failure, so we had to wait. We were hoping you would be able to get to one of the mountain huts and find shelter there. That's where we started to look. At some point we found your car, almost completely snowed in, so we knew we were on the right path and then checked the hut closest next. We'll take you to the hospital now so the doctors can examine Detective Taylor and also have a look at your ankle," he said.

XXXXX

Late in the evening, Stella flopped onto her couch after a long, hot bubble bath. Dressed in her coziest flannel pajama, a fluffy, thick bathrobe and two pairs of warm, plushy socks, she cuddled into a corner and flipped through the stations with her TV remote when the doorbell rang.

"You've got to be kidding me..." she grumbled, looking down at her outfit. Then she got up with a heavy sigh. Whoever showed up at this hour of night would have to deal with her not being dressed up for company. She shuffled to the door, slightly limping with her bandaged ankle that the doctors had taped after analyzing by X-ray that it was only a mild sprain and after a peek through the peephole, opened it with a surprised look. Mac was standing in front of her, his right hand holding the doorframe and behind him was a man in a leather jacket, a checkered cap pulled into his face.

"Mac?"

"I didn't come to check on you…" he quickly defended himself, knowing that she doesn't like that. "I … um, came for you to check on me." He smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, sure you did," she smiled back. "I thought the doctor told you to stay in bed?"

"He didn't say in which one…" Mac joked.

The cabby cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. "Um, I gotta go, got some more work to do. Guess you're getting along without me now?" he asked in Mac's direction.

"Sorry," Mac apologized. "Sure, thanks for helping me out, Ali. Have a good night and drive safely."

The cabby nodded and turned for the elevator, while Mac turned back to Stella.

"You letting me in or...?"

She shook her head and chuckled, then took his left arm and guided him inside.

"How's your ankle?" he asked after she had helped him settle down on the couch and brought him something to drink.

"I'm good, only hurts a little. Guess in a day or two I'm as good as new," she replied. "You?"

He sighed and shrugged.

"Be patient, Mac," Stella said softly. "The doctor said from the MRI there is no permanent damage to the brain or optic nerves. Only swelling from the blow you sustained from the beam that hit you. Even though it might take a couple of weeks, you will get your eyesight back eventually.

Mac nodded in silence.

"You were very lucky," she added quietly, her fingers softly brushing his cheek before she pressed a light kiss against his forehead.

"Can I... would it be okay if I stayed here for the night?" he asked hesitantly after they had finished their warm drinks.

Stella laughed. "Sure, we don't wanna call Ali back here to babysit you on the way to your own home, now do we? You can sleep on the couch for as long as you like and need to."

XXXXX

She woke up slowly, realizing she wasn't alone. An arm was wrapped around her waist, slightly brushing against the underside of her breasts. A wave of heat rushed through her body. She turned around to look at him. He was still sleeping. She smiled. He looked peaceful, relaxed. His eyes were closed, his mouth not pressed close, but relaxed in a satisfied, almost smiling way. His breathing was deep and slow.

"Mac?" she whispered, carefully touching his arm. "Mac, wake up!"

He murmured sleepily and pulled her closer against him.

Another heat wave rolled over her.

"What are you doing in my bed? I thought you were sleeping on the couch," she tried to complain.

"It was cold there," he mumbled into her curls. "And very lonely…"

His lips lightly brushed the lobe of her ear as he spoke, his warm breath tingled the side of her neck.

TBC

* * *

**Good, this was it for now. A little short, I know, but I just had to get this out and see if you are still there ;-) Please tell me you are! Don't mention spoilers or comments on the current season with respect to those who can't watch it yet - but please tell me what you think about THIS story so I know if you want more. I promise that I will keep working on various things more regularly now and so depending on the income of reviews, there should hopefully be more frequent updates and new stories! Thanks for everything, littlesheep :-)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I can't thank you guys enough or tell you HOW happy I am about all those extremely nice reviews - and most of all that you are all still around and still love the stories. What a relief! :-) Thanks so much all of you, everyone who read the story, wrote a review, added an author/story alert or put me or the story on their favorites' list. You are the BEST!**

**Special thanks - just gotta mention this - to csi kane for a brand new word that I totally LOVE: smexy ;-) Love it!**

**Alright, here comes the final chapter (and it is about twice as long as the previous one which as was correctly pointed out was rushed and too short) - please read and review!**

**And most of all: Enjoy and stay with me (and Stella and Mac)!**

**The song in case you forgot is still "When You Say Nothing At All" by Ronan Keating - listen to it, it's amazing and perfect, especially for the final scene :-)  
**

* * *

x

Chapter 6

"And there I thought you were a tough guy, never freezing - and besides that, used to sleeping alone," Stella tried to cover her nervousness.

Mac slowly smiled and reached out to touch her cheek.

"I've had enough cold during the past few days for a long time," he replied, his face moving closer to hers. "And I didn't sleep alone," he added. "I liked that a lot..."

Stella hesitated, pausing just a fraction of an inch before her lips touched his.

"We won't be able to get back to where we were," she murmured.

He looked at her for a moment, even though he wasn't able to see her, then closed the gap between them with a soft and intimate kiss.

"We won't want to," he whispered back, his left hand tenderly moving down along her spine - until he let out an annoyed curse when one of their cell phones started ringing. "You've got to be kidding me... is that mine or yours?"

"Yours," Stella managed to reply, her mind still dazed from his kiss and the feel of his hands on her body. She reached over to the nightstand and handed him the phone, then silently waited while he answered the call, her head resting against his shoulder.

"Taylor! ... Don, what is it? ... I'm okay, just need some time. ... No, I'm not at the hospital, I'm... at home ... What? When and where? ... No, it's okay, no problem. My eyes aren't working at the moment, but my brain is. I'll be there. ... No, you don't need to come. I'll call Stella, she'll pick me up. ... Alright, thanks, Don."

Stella opened her mouth indignantly and shot him a look. Then she remembered this wasn't working at the moment and rolled her eyes in annoyance about this inconvenience instead. Hopefully he would get his eyesight back sooner rather than later, she was just too used to working with looks on him.

"Okay," she said. "What were you going to tell me after you 'called' me?"

"The coast guard found a boat with a body and a lot of blood near the coast and they want CSI to process before taking the boat in to avoid compromising the scene," Mac explained. "And a storm is coming up and that could ruin all evidence on deck for good..."

"Great," she sighed. "I guess we can call it a night then… Couldn't they have waited until our regular shift starts? This is VERY inconsiderate!" she grumbled while she got ready to get up.

* * *

XXXXX

"Why do the Marines prefer to hire candidates that can't swim?" Stella asked on their way to the car.

"Huh? Uh, I have no idea..." Mac returned slightly confused.

"They put more effort into defending the ships," she returned with a grin.

"Where do you get stuff like that?" he wondered.

"I'm like a sponge, I absorb."

"Uhum. Well, come on then, little sponge. We gotta go and do some fishing…"

When they arrived at the coast, Stella remained behind the wheel without moving and waited, a suspicious look turned towards the darkening sky. Thunder sounded in the distance as she looked over to Mac.

„Do I really wanna get out of the car?" she asked.

Before he could answer, another threatening grumbling noise rolled pretty close, followed by a bright lightning and a loud thunder bang.

„Nope, don't think so," she stated determinedly, making no move to unbuckle her seat-belt.

„Come on, Stella, we gotta go. Sullivan from the Coast Guard is waiting for us," Mac mercilessly commented and got out of the car on the passenger side.

Stella looked after him in disbelief, but knew he wouldn't come back in to say it again.

„But Mac…" she argued, while leading him towards the waiting coast guard officer, wincing when another thunderbolt went down.

„Afraid of thunderstorms?" he carefully asked because he wanted to make sure that she was okay.

„No, not of the storm…" she said. „More of that," pointing to the little coast guard boat at the pier that was dancing up and down on the waves that the wind pushed against the quay.

Then she reminded herself once again that he couldn't see her gestures and looks.

„Mac, I'm Greek. Most of us are philosophers, not seamen. **I**'m not seaworthy - and I MEAN it the way I'm saying it!"

„How bad is it?" he inquired.

„Well, I get nauseous if I look at a boat in high waves on TV," she started to explain.

„Okay, I see…" he interrupted slowly and now also a bit concerned. „I'm very sorry, but apparently I really need you out there. You think you can go through this?"

„Sure…" she replied reluctantly. „You know me."

He nodded and put a hand on her shoulder.

„It's gonna be okay, don't worry, I'm with you. I'm gonna hold your hand," he teased her.

She looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"I'm gonna hold YOUR hand to make sure you don't go overboard because you can't see where the boat ends. **I** don't need anyone to hold my hand… But you will hold the puke bag when my dinner from last night decides to watch the storm!" she snapped.

When they reached the boat, she waved to the guy on board.

„Detective Taylor? Nice to meet you, I'm Steve Sullivan," he greeted them.

„Mac Taylor," Mac introduced himself while shaking Sullivan's hand. „This is Stella Bonasera."

„Nice to meet you," Sullivan took Stella's hand.

„My pleasure," she returned with a forced smile.

„You look a bit concerned, don't like the sea?" he asked her, having an eye for problems like this from years of experience.

Stella looked at Mac.

„We have a complicated relationship…" she answered. „Works better from the distance, but I'll be fine."

_Hopefully…_

„Wait a second," Sullivan said and disappeared below deck.

Moments later he returned and handed her two pills.

„Here, take these, that should help you," he smiled.

„Thanks," Stella replied and swallowed the pills. „Alright, let's go then" she said with a doubtful look at the boat, then to the sky and over the water.

"Wait a second," Mac said when his cell phone started ringing. "I've gotta take this." He reached inside his coat.

Stella grabbed his sleeve. "Don't you **dare** leave me alone here… I know where you live, I know where you work, I know what car you're driving. If you try to sneak out of this, I'll find you. And it won't be pretty…" she hissed into his ear.

Sullivan witnessed them and pressed his lips together to avoid a chuckle.

When Mac had ended the call a few moments later, Stella helped him to climb aboard, still looking suspicious.

"Don't worry, she's been made for such weather conditions, this boat won't sink," Sullivan tried to comfort her.

"Yeah… right. That's what they also said about the Titanic," Stella dryly returned, causing both men to grin.

* * *

XXXXX

When they reached the leaderless boat, Sullivan maneuvered their boat until both boats were moving side by side, then he climbed over and tied them together with a thick rope that Stella handed him over the railing, several old car tires at the side of their own boat prevented both boats from colliding in the storm. First Sullivan helped Stella to move over to the other boat, then he got back and gave Mac a helping hand while Stella reached out for him from the other side.

"I'm gonna stay here and keep the lady in place," Sullivan shouted over the roaring wind.

Stella nodded and led Mac to where she had spotted the body near the rear end of the little yacht. She guided his hand towards the railing so he could steady himself, then slowly walked around the body, taking pictures of it and the area nearby.

"Caucasian male, 35 to 45 years, about 6 feet and approximately 180 pounds," she described. "Looks like blunt force trauma to the head, no other apparent wounds or injuries. Head wound doesn't seem to have bled all that much, yet there is an enormous amount of blood around here..."

"Maybe it's not our victim's?" Mac asked from where he was standing, trying to picture the scenario from Stella's description in his head.

Stella looked at him questioningly. "You think there's another body on the boat? Or maybe..." she instinctively reached for her weapon, "... someone else who is still alive?"

"The Coast Guard didn't search the boat after they discovered the body and the blood on board in order to preserve the scene," Mac said. "It would be better to search under deck before continuing to process up here."

Stella nodded and looked over to Sullivan who was watching them.

"I need to go down and take a look around," she called out. "Can you keep an eye on what's happening up here, just in case we have company that we don't know off yet?"

"Sure, no problem!"

"You stay here near the door and wait while I go down," she told Mac after she had guided him to the little door that led to a narrow flight of stairs. A few minutes later, she came back up.

"Nothing," she told him. "No sign of anyone else around, nor is there any sign of struggle. Looks like whatever happened, only took place up here."

"We need to finish up here!" Sullivan shouted. "The storm is increasing, we need to see that we get the body and the boat in!"

"Ten minutes!" Stella shouted back and started processing the victim, taking more pictures and collecting evidence, bagging his hands and feet in plastic bags, as well as his head to protect the wound for further examination at the morgue. Then she got up and moved over to the railing.

"We're good to go," she told Sullivan.

"There's a little problem," he slowly replied.

"I don't really appreciate you saying something like that in a situation like this," she slightly winced. "What's wrong?"

"This boat only has room for three people," Sullivan explained. "The radio isn't working anymore, so I couldn't call for backup to take the body in. We need to split up... I assume you would want the body to be taken in as soon as possible so it won't be compromised by rain more than necessary, so ... either one of you goes with me or I'll take the body alone and get back here as fast as I can to pick you up."

Stella stared at him and swallowed hard. "You want to leave us alone out here?"

"Not alone, remember?" Mac softly said, a hand resting on her upper right arm.

"But this boat is disabled!" Stella wasn't in the mood for soft comfort under the circumstances. "What if..."

"She's not running, but she's safe," Sullivan interrupted her. "The anchor is dropped and the cable chain is pretty new, she won't be going anywhere. You're safe out here, I promise. I wouldn't leave you here if I thought otherwise."

"Won't be going anywhere but up and down and twisting left and right and going down and up..." Stella muttered under her breath, then she nodded. "Alright, let's move. No need to drag this on any longer then absolutely necessary."

Sullivan reached them a light, portable stretcher and with Mac's help, they managed to move the body onto it and push it over to the other boat where Sullivan took over.

"I'll be back soon!" he promised again. "Stay below deck, it will protect you from the storm."

"Be careful!" Stella called after him, partly out of concern for him being out in the storm, but partly also out of worry that if something happened to him, they would be trapped out there for God knows how long.

After Sullivan left, Stella lead Mac to the stairs leading under deck again and helped him climb down. They found a small bench at a table in what seemed to be the kitchen area, or mess as they were called, and sat down to wait for the return of the coast guard officer.

"Come closer, it will keep us both warm," Mac suggested quietly when he noticed that Stella was shivering, although he couldn't tell if it was from the fact that she was cold due to rain and low temperatures or from being afraid.

Stella willingly agreed, glad to have someone to hold her. She covered them both with a few blankets she had spotted in a corner of the room and snuggled against his side. When Sullivan finally returned several hours later, she was almost asleep from exhaustion.

* * *

XXXXX

Several days later, Stella received a call from Sid. "I got something for you, would you mind paying me a little visit?"

"I'll be over in five minutes!"

When she entered the morgue, Sid was working on a body.

"What happened to him?" she asked as she got closer.

"Stupid guy ran into a knife," Sid replied.

Stella frowned and looked closer.

"Yeah, repeatedly," she determined. Then she paused.

"He's wearing a condom?"

"He was 'engaged' with his brother's wife when he 'ran' into the knife," Sid returned with a look over the rim of his glasses.

"I figure the brother was on the other side of said knife?" Stella asked.

"See? That's why you are my favorite CSI," Sid grinned. "As smart as you are beautiful."

Stella rolled her eyes in return, but couldn't help a smile.

"Alright, smarty-pants, I assume he was not the reason why you wanted to see me?"

"I don't need a reason for wanting to see you," Sid kept his flirtatious attitude, but cautiously took a step back. "Right," he got back to business, "the reason for my calling you is the gentleman on table three over there."

"Doesn't look too good," Stella commented after a short glance at a second body.

"That's because he was buried in the snow for some time and is just slowly defrosting right now," Sid explained.

Stella raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You mean that's our victim from the Adirondacks?"

"If there wasn't more than one body out there at the same time, it sure looks that way," Sid confirmed. "Rangers found him this morning several yards off a little side track, looks like he got lost in the snow."

"COD?" Stella asked curiously after she had spotted a wound at the victim's right upper thigh.

"Hypothermia," Sid replied. "It would seem that he lost a lot of blood due to a severed artery in his leg which slowed him down considerably, probably he was limping heavily, stumbling and falling frequently and eventually was too weak to keep moving. He tried to find cover underneath a bush, but when the snowstorm got too strong, he didn't have a chance. And here's the best thing, guess what?" he whispered mysteriously, lifting a chart from a nearby table.

"What?"

"Preliminary DNA test shows a perfect match to the foreign blood you found on the boat along with your other victim!" he announced triumphantly.

"No kidding!" Stella's eyes widened in surprise. Talk about a small world... "How the hell..."

"Here's what I'm thinking," Sid offered an explanation. "Mountain guy and boat guy are on the boat, having a fight over something. Boat guy hurts mountain guy, most likely with a knife - which was probably thrown overboard during the fight then - severing his artery, causing massive bleeding. Mountain guy smashes boat guys head, who eventually dies, and takes off. Probably with a little rescue boat, but he might have swam as well, the distance to the shore wasn't that far after all and in the cold water, the bleeding would have slowed for a while. Maybe he also put some sort of pressure bandage on it before he left the boat. Either way, this guy is the killer of your other victim and he himself died by accident, even though it was in the aftermath of an attack. But since his attacker is already dead as well..."

"Brilliant conclusion, excellent report," Stella nodded. "Send me your findings when you're done with everything, then I'll finish the report when we have all the results from the lab. Thanks, Sid. Good work!"

* * *

XXXXX

He was sitting on her bed, his shirt unbuttoned, shoes already taken off. She smiled at him as she started to open the first button of her blouse.

"Don't," he interrupted her, causing her to stop and look at him with confusion.

"Mac? You... you can see?" Her eyes slowly filled with tears.

"Not one hundred percent yet. It started a few hours ago, there was suddenly lights and shadows, then it was gone again. It's like you can't feel or smell something, then it's there for a moment, then gone the next. I wasn't sure, so I didn't say anything. Now it seems to get better and better, it's still very blurry and dark, but I can make out shapes and some colors and light and dark parts."

He held out a hand to gesture her to get closer.

"Let me do that," he whispered as he slowly pulled her to him.

Standing between his legs, she looked down at him, watching him slowly opening one button after the other. Her breath got caught in her throat when his fingertips lightly brushed the exposed skin of her cleavage and her hands instinctively reached for support, touching the bare skin of his chest and shoulders, sliding his already open shirt down over his arms.

He had imagined what it would be like to feel her hands on his skin for almost as long as he had known her and reality was even so much more than his imagination had ever been able to create.

More than he ever imagined he deserved.

x

_The touch of your hand says  
You'll catch me  
Whenever I fall  
You say it best  
When you say nothing at all_

_x  
_

The End

* * *

**I really hope you like it! More to come soon, I promise - keep up the good spirit :-) littlesheep**


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